The Spanish Prisoner (American Indies) - Softcover

Tzioumakis, Yannis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0748633693 ISBN 13: 9780748633692

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press, 2009

Synopsis

Despite more than a passing nod to such crowdpleasing classics as Hitchcock's North by Northwest, playwright-turned-independent filmmaker David Mamet's The Spanish Prisoner is a particularly idiosyncratic film that betrays its origin outside the Hollywood mainstream. Featuring a convoluted narrative, an excessive, often anti-classical, visual style, and belonging to the generic category of the'con game film' which often challenges the spectator's cognitive skills, The Spanish Prisoner is a film that bridges genre filmmaking withpersonal visual style, independent film production with niche distribution,and mainstream subject matter with unconventional filmic techniques.This book discusses The Spanish Prisoner as an example of contemporary American independent cinema while also using the film as a vehicle to explore several key ideas in film studies, especially in terms of aesthetics, narrative, style, spectatorship, genre and industry.Key FeaturesoDistinguishes between independent and 'indie' cinema through anexamination of the 'classics divisions,' especially Sony Pictures ClassicsoAssesses the position of David Mamet within American cinemaoIntroduces the genre categories of the 'con artist' and the 'con game' filmand discusses The Spanish Prisoner as a key example of the latteroExamines the ways in which narrative, narration and visual style deviatefrom the mainstream/classical aesthetic

About this title

About the Author

Yannis Tzioumakis is Reader in Film and Media Industries at the University of Liverpool. His research specialises in American independent cinema and the business of media entertainment. His books include American Independent Cinema: An Introduction (EUP, 2006), The Spanish Prisoner (EUP, 2009), and Greek Cinema: Texts, Histories Identities (Intellect, 2011). He is also the co-editor of "American Indies" (EUP), a 6-volume book series that examines key titles from the contemporary US independent film scene.

From the Back Cover

American IndiesSeries Editors: Gary Needham & Yannis TzioumakisThis series of books covers contemporary American films that have found commercial success but which have not been constrained by the formal and ideological parameters often associated with mainstream Hollywood cinema. Each volume explores a specific film and combines innovative and original research with clearly defined classroom-orientated frameworks of film analysis.The Spanish PrisonerYannis TzioumakisThe Spanish Prisoner is playwright-turned-independent filmmaker David Mamet's most commercially successful film. Nodding to such crowd-pleasing classics as Hitchcock's North by Northwest, The Spanish Prisoner is nonetheless a particularly idiosyncratic film that betrays its origin outside the Hollywood mainstream. Featuring a heavily convoluted narrative that is the product of an unreliable narration; an excessive, often anti-classical, visual style that draws attention to itself; and belonging to the generic category of the 'con game film' which actively challenges the spectator to comprehend the unfolding of the narrative, The Spanish Prisoner is a film that bridges genre filmmaking with personal visual style, independent film production with niche distribution, and mainstream subject matter with unconventional filmic techniques.This book discusses The Spanish Prisoner as an example of contemporary American independent cinema while also using it as a vehicle to explore several key ideas in film studies, especially in terms of aesthetics, narrative, style and genre.Key Features* Distinguishes between independent and 'indie' cinema through an examination of the Classics divisions, especially Sony Pictures Classics* Assesses the position of David Mamet within American cinema and especially within the Independent sector* Introduces the genre categories of the 'con artist' and the 'con game' film and discusses The Spanish Prisoner as a key example of the latter* Examines the ways in

Edition details

• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0748633693
• ISBN 13: 9780748633692
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 168